South Africa's junior batsmen give hope for the future

Sometimes it only takes an over for a team's future to look a little brighter. For South Africa, that moment came 13 overs into the second session of day four.

It began with a little luck. Theunis de Bruyn had scratched his way to 17 from 56 deliveries when Mitchell Starc steamed in, found the edge and watched as the ball flew between the wicketkeeper and first slip. Starc is not one to hide his emotions, and his frustration was evident. When de Bruyn got forward to stroke a full delivery to the boundary two balls later, the frustration grew.

"It's natural when you are playing against the Australians that there's a lot of chat on the field," Aiden Markram said later. "There's not a lot of swearing - there are a few here and there but it's not the end of the world. I believe it's part of the game. It makes the success that much more rewarding."

After the next delivery, which de Bruyn defended, Starc's mouth took over. De Bruyn remained mum, for the moment, but the crowd let Starc know what they thought of him. There were boos all round, and down at the Umgeni End - the one that Starc was bowling from - a spectator waved an inflatable sheep at the bowler. An old joke, but a South African favourite in any attempt to diss Australians.

When de Bruyn produced an even better drive to pick up a third boundary in the over and Starc went at him again, this time de Bruyn stood his ground and spoke back. It took some time for Starc to return to his end of the pitch. There was an atmosphere of shock. Australia's bowlers had spent the Test sledging South Africa's batsmen without reply, but now the Proteas' most junior player was giving it back. A subtle shift in the momentum of the series was tangible.

The next over began with a glorious drive through the covers, Markram's knee just bending into the stroke as the ball raced away to the fence. Markram had batted smoothly up until that point, and had already reached 59, but even his game seemed to lift.

Just two hours previously, South Africa were in tatters. Not just their innings, with their first four wickets down and just 49 runs on the board, but their series as well. With the four senior-most batsmen back in the hut, another train wreck was in prospect. Another low score and South Africa would have headed to Port Elizabeth wondering if they were capable of handling Australia's attack.

"It does give us confidence (for the series)," said Markam. "Obviously it's a long series and every innings is vitally important. We would have liked to have done it better in the first innings. But what's done is done and we had to fight our way back in the second innings and I thought the guys showed a lot of fight. Theunis took it to a guy like Mitchell Starc, which was probably unexpected for most out there. It showed the character in the side."

It also offered hope for the future. Nobody, not even the player himself, seems to know quite when AB de Villiers will call time on his Test career. But there is a sense that it will be sooner rather than later. Hashim Amla will be 35 by the end of the series, and although he has arranged his Hampshire deal around South Africa's next tour, to Sri Lanka in August, his Test future is also uncertain. Either way his powers are waning - the last two years have brought just three hundreds in 22 Tests, all scored against lacklustre Asian attacks on home turf. Faf du Plessis hopes to play on for two more years but the demands of the captaincy will challenge his ability to do so.

All of which underlines the importance of South Africa's three batting juniors standing up to the strongest attack in the world when their team were 49 for 4. De Bruyn's knock of 37 did not look overly exciting on the scorecard, but the temperament it required suggested that he has a future at Test level.

Quinton de Kock came into the series after a poor run of form, an injury, and with the selectors having picked a back-up wicketkeeper in the squad. He responded to the pressure with an innings that mixed patience with his usual attacking game, and which underlined a tougher edge to his game. "A lot gets said about Quinny, that he is all talent, but today he showed a lot of fight and character which is good for the rest of the series," noted Markram.

Then there is Markram himself. That he would have a long Test career was not in doubt before his career-best 143 on Sunday, but afterwards it was clear that South Africa have another player capable of becoming a great. It was not just the runs that he scored on a wearing pitch against a world-class attack, whilst taking a fierce blow to the left forearm, but how he scored them. Few batsmen in recent times have shown the ability to stand up tall and drive off the back foot with the panache and effect of Markram.

It is also worth considering the harrowing experience that the 23-year-old went through over the past month, when he was thrown in at the deep end. Asked to captain South Africa's one-day side at the same time that he was trying to cement his place in it, he was reduced to a shell of the confident player that had been on display since he made his international debut in September, as South Africa fell to defeat after defeat against India.

"It was quite a tricky stage for me, trying to establish myself in the side and along with that trying to lead a strong side against a very strong Indian side," he said. "It was very challenging for me. I found myself, in terms of batting, not all that much in the moment. I felt very rushed and a lot like a blur. For what reason I am not so sure, I haven't worked it out just yet. Captaincy did have a bit to do with it. Having said that it was something I did enjoy. Going forward if I was to establish myself in the one-day side it might come a little bit easier next time."

Despite the 5-1 drubbing in the one-day series, there is little doubt that Markram will follow in du Plessis' footsteps once the 33-year-old relinquishes the captaincy. He is the only captain to lead South Africa to glory in a major limited overs tournament, having lifted the Under-19 World Cup four years ago. Sunday's innings was proof that he can lead from the front with the bat on the biggest stage.

South Africa, of course, have merely been granted a stay of execution in the first Test. They will still lose handsomely, barring some sort of divine intervention from the weather gods, and face an uphill battle to turn the series around. But at least the future looks a little brighter.